Monday, Janaury 26, 2015. Chaos and violence continue, Baghdad
International Airport is shut down due to a shooting, Angelina Jolie
visits Iraqi and Syrian refugees, Sunnis continue to be targeted, truth
teller Chelsea Manning remains in prison, Google plays nice with the
White House while betraying WikiLeaks (and the US Constitution) and much more.

Wassim ABdul-Zahra (AP) reports
an Emirati plane was shot at during its landing today at Baghdad
International Airport -- an airport he describes as "the highly secure
Baghdad airport." Clearly, it's not highly secure. When airports are
"highly secure," planes landing don't get fired at. Earlier today, Iraqi Spring MC noted that Baghdad International Airport had been shut down with all flights cancelled.

And Iraqi Spring MC reports
that Falluja General Hospital received the corpses of 4 civilians and
seven wounded civilians today -- a result of the Iraqi military's
one-year-plus of bombing residential neighborhoods in the Sunni city of
Falluja.

These attacks would not be tolerated by the Shi'ite Prime Minister of
Iraq if the victims were Shi'ites. Haider al-Abadi became prime minister
in August and, September 13th, he announced these daily bombings --
which are War Crimes -- had been stopped.

Either he's a liar or the Iraqi military does not listen to their commander in chief.

Within 24 hours of his announcement that the bombings had ended they were already going on again.

And they continue each day.

Maybe four lives don't matter to the international community?

I'd hope they would but maybe they don't.

If they don't, try to grasp that this is four people dead today. Today.
These bombings have been going on daily since January of last year.
Over 12 months of these daily bombings -- which, again, are War Crimes
-- the toll adds up -- the number dead and the number injured.

And the international community should be demanding answers starting
with whether Haider al-Abadi lied or if he's just so ineffective that
the Iraqi military blows off any order he gives them?

Sunni politicians and tribal chiefs from Iraq's eastern
Diyala province accused Shi'ite militias on Monday of killing more than
70 unarmed civilians who had fled clashes with Islamic State of Iraq and
Levant (ISIL) militants.

The Minister of the Interior is a laughable joke and far from a trusted source on the topic of thugs murdering Sunnis. As Loveday Morris (Washington Post) noted last October:The new interior minister is Mohammed Ghabban, a little-known Shiite
politician with the Badr Organization. But there is little doubt that
Hadi al-Amiri, head of the party and its military wing, will wield the
real power in the ministry.

The Badr militia ran notorious Shiite
death squads during Iraq’s sectarian war, after infiltrating the
Interior Ministry. A leaked 2009 State Department cable
said sources had indicated that Amiri may have personally ordered
attacks on up to 2,000 Sunnis. Amiri has denied such allegations.

The UN refugee agency's Special Envoy Angelina Jolie is in Dohuk,
Iraq, visiting Syrian refugees and displaced Iraqi citizens in the
Kurdistan Region of Iraq to offer support to 3.3 million displaced
people in the country and highlight their dire needs.Since Ms Jolie's last visit to Iraq in September 2012, the scale and
gravity of the humanitarian situation have increased dramatically, as
the conflicts in Syria and Iraq intensify and become intertwined."It is shocking to see how the humanitarian situation in Iraq has
deteriorated since my last visit. On top of large numbers of Syrian
refugees, two million Iraqis were displaced by violence in 2014 alone.
Many of these innocent people have been uprooted multiple times as they
seek safety amidst shifting frontlines."While a massive aid response has been launched by UNHCR and partners,
an estimated 330,000 people across the country still live in
sub-standard shelters as they face their first winter away from home.On Sunday, Ms Jolie visited internally displaced Iraqis living in an
informal settlement and a formal camp at Khanke, a 40 minute drive from
Dohuk city. Together, the sites now accommodate more than 20,000 people
from the Yazidi minority who fled Sinjar and surrounding areas in early
August. Jolie spoke to people with dramatic stories of escape, including
people who managed to flee their imprisonment by walking through the
night and hiding by day. She also met elderly women who were among the
196 Yazidis recently released by insurgents and now staying in the
informal settlement at Khanke.The women recounted their ordeal of kidnap, detention, escape, and
release. Jolie listened to the stories of extreme hardship and loss,
including from people who still have sons, husbands and daughters
detained, and others who had heard their daughters were moved to Syria.
Others had lost all contact with their loved ones and had no idea of
their fate."Nothing can prepare you for the horrific stories of these survivors
of kidnap, abuse and exploitation and to see how they cannot all get the
urgent help they need and deserve," Jolie said. "The needs so
dramatically outstrip the resources available in this vast crisis. Much
more international assistance is needed," the Special Envoy added.Funding shortfalls have affected the scale and type of programmes to
help survivors of violence and human rights abuses alongside the
provision of shelter and other assistance. While much aid has been
provided by the government, UNHCR and partners over the last six months
-- including 34 new camps built or under construction -- aid operations
are hampered by lack of funding alongside security constraints. UNHCR,
for example, has received only 53 per cent of its required USD 337
million for its response to internal displacement in Iraq during 2014
and has received the go-ahead to proceed on projected funding for only
31per cent of its required USD 556 for 2015.The Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) is hosting some 900,000 displaced
people, placing an enormous strain on hosting communities, authorities
and infrastructure. The huge influx of people from Mosul and Sinjar
between June and August 2014 caused a three-month delay in the start of
the school year, as over 700 public schools in Dohuk were occupied by
uprooted people. An estimated 20 per cent of the five million people in
the KRI are either displaced Iraqis from elsewhere or refugees.

"I am very thankful to the Kurdish authorities for hosting so many
displaced Iraqis alongside Syrian refugees at a time when they are
facing so many challenges," the Special Envoy said.

"The international community has to step up and do more," Angelina declared.

A video purportedly showing the death of one of the two Japanese
hostages held by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) was released
late Saturday night. The other hostage is still being held by the
group, which has reduced its ransom demand from $100 million per person
to a prisoner exchange involving a woman held in Jordan over a 2005
terror bombing.The newest video is a still picture with audio
showing one of the hostages, reporter Kenji Goto, holding a picture of
the other hostage, Haruna Yukawa, beheaded.

The accompanying audio
is Goto speaking in English and issuing ISIS’s new demand for the
release of Sajida al-Rishawi. “It is simple. You give them Sajida and I
will be released,” he says.

Rishawi and her husband targeted a wedding in a hotel ballroom. After
Shamari noticed that his wife was having trouble detonating her
explosives, he pushed her out of the room. He then blew himself up,
klling 38 people,reported the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. Rishawi fled the scene but was captured by the authorities shortly after. She appeared in a dramatic televised confession in November 2005 wearing the bombs that she had planned to set off.

According to CNN, Rishawi said on air that her husband planned the attack and taught her how to use the explosive belt.

Now, more than three years after the U.S. military presence in Iraq was
thought over, about a quarter of the Panther Brigade will return with a
new mission to help train Iraqi forces to fight the Islamic State.
About 1,000 paratroopers from the brigade will deploy this week as part of the Operation Inherent Resolve mission.

The White House sent US Secretary of State John Kerry to argue, December 9th,
to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Congress must pass
an authorization for US President Barack Obama's actions in Iraq and Syria and that this
legislation must include that Barack can send US combat troops into
Iraq.When do we plan to address that?The peace movement -- or what now passes for it -- keeps ignoring it.They have time to trash a film and trash a dead man.Because they 'care,' you understand.They just don't want to work to stop Congress from okaying ground troops for combat in Iraq.A number of groups are planning a protest in DC . . . for mid-March.Do you really think Congress won't have passed an authorization by then?And are you unable to plan a protest and to call for people to demand
their representatives in Congress refuse to give Barack authority to put
US troops into combat?Just US troops being in Iraq means they may get into combat.That's what happened to Canadian forces.Last week, the Canadian government acknowledged that combat took place for Canada and the Islamic State. Al Jazeera reports:

Canadian special forces have clashed with the Islamic State of Iraq
and the Levant group by exchanging gunfire in Iraq in recent days, in
the first confirmed ground battle between Western troops and ISIL, a
senior officer has said.The Canadians came under mortar and machine gun fire while training
Iraqi troops near front lines and shot back in what Canadian special
forces commander Brigadier General Michael Rouleau described as
self-defence, killing the ISIL fighters. Rouleau said the melee had taken place in the previous seven days and
was "the first time we've taken fire and returned fire" in Iraq, where
the armed group has overrun large areas.

Just US troops being on the ground in Iraq means possible combat.

All Iraq News reports, "An
officer within the Canadian Army confirmed that a Canadian special
force clashed with militants of the ISIL in Iraq for the second time
within few days."

But let's all pretend it's not possible.

A number of Canadians were pretending that until last week.

Pretending works really well if you want to live in denial. Chelsea
Manning is imprisoned for truth telling but those who refuse to call out
US President Barack Obama -- there are so many, like the ass that went
on Flasphpoints -- so-called leader of Courage to Resist -- earlier this
month who trashed Hillary Clinton for what was done to Bradley.

But Little Jeff never could mention Barack, could he?

Barack declared Chelsea guilty -- publicly. He's also the one who made
the decision to go after Chelsea. He could have stopped it at any time.
But Wee Wee Little Jeff couldn't call out Barack.

Courage?

Little Jeff has no courage at all.

Let's talk Chelsea. Monday April 5,
2010, WikiLeaks released
military video of a July 12, 2007 assault in Iraq. 12 people were
killed in the assault including two Reuters journalists Namie Noor-Eldeen and
Saeed Chmagh. Monday June 7,
2010, the US military announced that they had arrested Private Bradley
Manning and he stood accused of being the leaker of the video. Leila Fadel
(Washington Post) reported in August 2010 that Manning had
been charged -- "two charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The
first encompasses four counts of violating Army regulations by transferring
classified information to his personal computer between November and May and
adding unauthorized software to a classified computer system. The second
comprises eight counts of violating federal laws governing the handling of
classified information." In March, 2011, David S. Cloud
(Los Angeles Times) reported
that the military has added 22 additional counts to the charges
including one
that could be seen as "aiding the enemy" which could result in the death
penalty
if convicted. The Article 32 hearing took place in December 2012. At
the start of 2013, there was an Article 32 hearing and, February 3rd, it
was announced
that the government would be moving forward with a court-martial. The
court-martial was supposed to begin before the November 2012 election
but it was
postponed until after the election so that Barack wouldn't have to run
on a
record of his actual actions. February 28th, Bradley admitted he leaked to WikiLeaks. And why.

Bradley Manning: In attempting to conduct counter-terrorism or CT and
counter-insurgency COIN operations we became obsessed with capturing and
killing human targets on lists and not being suspicious of and avoiding
cooperation with our Host Nation partners, and ignoring the second and
third order effects of accomplishing short-term goals and missions. I
believe that if the general public, especially the American public, had
access to the information contained within the CIDNE-I and CIDNE-A
tables this could spark a domestic debate on the role of the military
and our foreign policy in general as [missed word] as it related to Iraq
and Afghanistan.
I also believed the detailed analysis of the data over a long period of
time by different sectors of society might cause society to reevaluate
the need or even the desire to even to engage in counterterrorism and
counterinsurgency operations that ignore the complex dynamics of the
people living in the effected environment everyday.

For truth telling, Brad was punished by the man who fears truth:
Barack Obama. Tuesday, July 30, 2013, Bradley was convicted of all but two counts by Colonel Denise Lind, the military judge in his court-martial. August 21, 2013, Bradley was sentenced to 35 years. August 22, 2013, Manning issued a statement through NBC's Today show thanking supporters and declaring, " I am Chelsea Manning. I am a female. Given the way that I feel, and
have felt since childhood, I want to begin hormone therapy as soon as
possible. I hope that you will support me in this transition. I also
request that, starting today, you refer to me by my new name and use the
feminine pronoun (except in official mail to the confinement facility).
I look forward to receiving letters from supporters and having the
opportunity to write back."

Given this history of knowing ignorance, how could Obama not
know about Chelsea Manning? Obama’s history of protecting other big
political dissidents is also abysmal. Just ask Edward Snowden, who had
to flee the country to make sure he wasn’t detained like Chelsea
Manning, before he released information to the public that the
government found embarrassing. Is that a sign of a free society?

I
suspect Obama does know who Chelsea Manning is, but for some reason she
doesn’t count as someone who has been persecuted for her struggles as
someone who is transgender — despite the fact that during her pre-trial
hearing Marine Corps Master Sgt. Craig Blenis defended the pretrial
detention on the basis of Manning’s gender dysphoria because “that’s not
normal, sir.”

Imprisoning Chelsea wasn't enough, going after Ed Snowden wasn't enough.
Barack's war on truth tellers never ends. This is made even more
clear by a press release WikiLeaks issued this morning:

Today, WikiLeaks' lawyers have written to Google and the US
Department of Justice concerning a serious violation of the privacy and
journalistic rights of WikiLeaks' staff. Investigations editor Sarah
Harrison, Section Editor Joseph Farrell and senior journalist and
spokesperson Kristinn Hrafnsson have received notice that Google had
handed over all their emails and metadata to the United States
government on the back of alleged 'conspiracy' and 'espionage' warrants
carrying up to 45 years in prison.Importantly, the warrants reveal for the first time a clear list
of the alleged offences the US government is trying to apply in its
attempts to build a prosecution against Julian Assange and other
WikiLeaks staff. The offences add up to a total of 45 years of
imprisonment.The US government is claiming universal jurisdiction to apply the
Espionage Act, general Conspiracy statute and the Computer Fraud and
Abuse Act to journalists and publishers – a horrifying precedent for
press freedoms around the world. Once an offence is alleged in relation
to a journalist or their source, the whole media organisation, by the
nature of its work flow, can be targeted as alleged 'conspiracy'. Julian
Assange, WikiLeaks Editor-in-Chief said: 'WikiLeaks has out endured
everything the Obama administration has thrown at us and we will out
endure these latest "offences" too.'
The alleged offences are:

In a letter
to the US Department of Justice and the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Virginia, WikiLeaks lawyers have requested
further details on the investigation. They state, "We have reason to
believe that these warrants were issued in violation of the Privacy
Protection Act of 1980 ("PPA"), 42 U.S.C. § 2200aa et. seq, which
protects journalists and publishers from being forced to turn over to
law enforcement their journalistic work product and documentary
materials. The subjects of these warrants are journalists working for a
publishing organization."The US Department of Justice confirmed to US federal court on 19 May 2014
that it was "very clear that the main, multi-subject, criminal
investigation of WikiLeaks 'remains open and pending'," but that to
release additional information would "harm" the "ongoing Department of
Justice (“DoJ”) and FBI criminal investigation and pending future
prosecution". In 2012 the US government stated in military court that
the target of the DoJ investigation included the "founders, owners and
managers of WikiLeaks". The investigation began as early as February 2010 and has involved search warrants and court orders for the records of WikiLeaks' associates.
Assange said: 'I call on president Obama to do the right
thing and call off his dogs--for his own sake. President Obama is set to
go down in history as the president who brought more bogus "espionage"
cases against the press than all previous presidents combined.'